Lady Warrior racer lives her dream of competing at Calgary Stampede

A new bareback horse race inspired by traditional Indigenous horsemanship is joining the Calgary Stampede this year. 

The Lady Warrior race is a chance for women to show off their skills in a one-lap bareback race around the track. 

"When I was a little girl, I always wanted to compete at the Calgary Stampede," said Lita Crawler, 21.  

"I never thought I'd be here riding in the races."

Crawler, from Chiniki First Nation just north of Calgary, got her start on the rodeo circuit around the age of 10 and said she was intrigued when she first saw bareback riding. 

"I just saw how fun it looked and I just wanted to give it a shot. I've been racing ever since," she said. 

The Lady Warrior race joins the Indian Relay — sometimes called Indigenous Relay or just relay — which first came to the Stampede in 2017 as a chance to showcase Indigenous horse culture to the massive Stampede crowds.

While this is the first time the Lady Warrior has been at Stampede, women have raced Indian Relay in the past. 

Tonya Crowchild, manager of the TK Farrier Services Indian Relay team which includes Crawler, said she thinks the inclusion of the women's-only event was inspired by an incident last year when a relay rider was injured and the team needed to rely on their emergency backup rider. 

"She [Logan Redcrow] jumped in and did relay with the guys and I think that's how it came about because everybody was so in awe," said Crowchild, from Tsuut'ina Nation near Calgary. 

So far the response to the women's race has been "phenomenal," Crowchild said.

"They cheer loud for relay but they cheer louder for the Lady Warrior," she said.

Both events are rooted in tradition. In the past, Crowchild said, races were held between tribes who competed over items like buffalo hides, horses and tools.

Being able to share this culture is a point of pride for Crowchild. 

"There's just so many different things that Indigenous people are now openly sharing because back in the day, even our ceremonies were outlawed by the Canadian government and we weren't allowed to be who we are," Crowchild said. 

"To come to where we are today, to be able to be proud and to share who we are is really, really important."

She added that education is a key part point of reconciliation, and said people need to know culture is "not just song and dance."

Like Crowchild, Crawler said she's proud to showcase traditional riding.

"A lot of people still don't know what this sport is," she said.

"At the end of the day they can see this and they can see that the Native people here can ride and have talent."

Demands of bareback racing

A dislocated shoulder, broken tailbone, fractured wrist, fractured elbow, broken ribs and broken knuckles haven't been able to keep Joshua Jackson away from Indian Relay.

In fact, Jackson said he can't get enough of it.

Relay races involve not only bareback riding, but riders must change horses at the end of each lap. How quickly a rider can switch from one horse to the next can determine who wins the race. 

It takes a special kind of person to want to compete in the physically-demanding races, Crowchild said. That adrenaline and fire are needed for both relay and warrior races, she added. 

While the riders and their thoroughbreds love what they do when they hit the track, Crowchild said, getting to that moment takes a lot of work. It also includes taking care of the horses all year round.

"When our young guys or gals are looking after these horses, their spirit is being fed, and these horses learn to trust you and love you just as much as you trust them and love them," she said. 

Jackson, from Goodfish Lake and Saddle Lake Cree Nation about 170 kilometres north of Edmonton, competes in Indian Relay for TK Farrier's team and said riding has always come naturally. 

The 18-year-old's talent for relay is well-known, and his brother Joseph is also a respected racer. 

Jackson said he finished second in his first race at this year's Stampede after his glasses fell off, but in his second race his glasses stayed on, and he won. 

Competing at the Stampede is like "living a dream," he said. 

"It means a lot. I grew up wanting to ride here."

Crowchild said Jackson has plenty of tricks for hopping on a horse without a saddle. 

Crawler, who stands 5-1, said she's still figuring out how to launch herself onto a horse.

So for now, she said, "I just swing on."